In 1981, New York Times dining critic Mimi
Sheraton bestowed four stars on a 23-year-old chef. The restaurant
was Vienna ’79, and the honor made Thomas Ferlesch the youngest
chef to be awarded quadruple stars in the history of the Times.
After an 11-year, much-heralded stint as executive chef at Cafe
des Artistes, Viennese expat Ferlesch swapped the Upper West
Side of Manhattan for Brooklyn, decamping to Fort Greene.
"I was walking my children to school one morning, and I
noticed this empty space [formerly the New City Bar & Grill]
across from the Brooklyn Academy of Music," Ferlesch said.
"It had a nice area in the back for a garden. I called the
landlord that day."
Fort Greene, not known for its Viennese community, has welcomed
Ferlesch’s lovingly restored Thomas Beisl ("beisl"
means bistro), based on the egalitarian gathering spots he remembered
from abroad.
"In Vienna, bistros serve the young and the old, plumbers,
doctors, artists, everyone," he said. With his proximity
to BAM, Long Island University and Pratt, and a real estate market
that leaves newcomers reeling from sticker-shock, Ferlesch’s
dream is being realized.
Replicating the bistros of his memory meant a major renovation.
What has evolved is a casual room with a comfortable bar on one
side – perfect for a quick, pre-theater drink – on the other,
is the dark, moody dining room with gold walls, mahogany wainscoting,
dark wood tables and vintage posters.
Ferlesch’s one-man crusade to change the perception of Austrian
cooking is working.
"When people think of Austrian food they think ’sausages.’
It’s really much more refined than that," he said. Purists
will be pleased that wiener schnitzel, beef goulash and Linzer
torte with whipped cream, or schlag, are on the menu. Those looking
for a broader dining experience will appreciate Gallic onion
soup, paninis, and a delicate cod filet with wild mushrooms and
sauteed spinach.
Asked why he adds jalapeno pepper to his creamy spaghetti squash,
Ferlesch commented, "Jalapeno is so much rounder and deeper
than black pepper." He could not care less that the pepper
isn’t an ingredient one associates with Austrian cuisine.
"I’ve been a cook for 20 years, and I’ve never stopped learning,"
he said. "If I find an ingredient that tastes better than
what I’ve used before, then I add it."
Such is the case with the delicate house cocktail improbably
named "The Schiele." Artist Egon Schiele’s work, with
titles such as "Agony" and "Death and the Girl,"
would inspire something with a more profound after-effect, not
this feminine elixir.
Brought to the table by the GQ-worthy host, the dry champagne
cocktail – tinged with a pale celadon-colored gel – sparkles.
Flavored with the essence of elderberry flowers and woodruff,
the gel imparts a light, herbal note and the aroma of a spring
breeze blowing across wildflowers.
The Schiele set the tone for a meal that was splendid dish after
dish: an authentic and satisfying onion soup gratinee; a special
sauerbraten, the beef marinated for "at least a week"
in red wine and vinegar; and a glorious calf’s liver with grapes
that is a tour de force of technique and flavor.
Desserts were everything you’d expect in a Viennese restaurant.
If Ferlesch offered this meal in Manhattan, you’d blow your mortgage
and thank him for the opportunity. In Brooklyn, the entrees top
out at $16.
Maybe you’re harboring resentment toward the French. Ferlesch’s
onion soup will allow you to forgive and forget. The deeply flavored
broth, so sweetly tinged with soft strands of onions, and the
pleasure of pushing your spoon through the sharp, chewy, Gruyere
cheese crust will banish all bad feelings.
A richly flavored eggplant and red pepper terrine was garnished
with a tart crown of goat cheese, and mushrooms in a crispy crust
with homemade tartar sauce looked like ordinary bar food but
were divine – the crust covering each mushroom as brittle as
glass and the sauce pleasantly lemony.
Ferlesch enjoys pairing multiple sides with his main courses.
While his mixes make for a busy plate, each component complements
the entree. Calf’s liver is a dish that diners either love or
avoid. If you’re of the latter category, give Ferlesch’s version
a try. The liver, a poor man’s foie gras of sorts, is seared
along its edges. The contrast of crispness and the liver’s fluffy,
mousse-like consistency will make your taste buds deliriously
happy. A seedless grape sauce, ever so slightly sweet, tempered
the beefy, nuttiness of the liver, and a small mound of eggplant,
red peppers and onions looked wrong on the plate – too much color
and the undesired promise of sweet and sour – yet was a refreshing
break from all the meaty flavors.
Sauerbraten is a dish associated with German beer halls and hausfraus.
In Ferlesch’s hands, it’s a mildly sweet and sour, fork-tender
delicacy. A serviette knödel, or napkin dumpling, is prepared
like a bread pudding, rolled in a napkin (plastic wrap is the
modern alternative) and poached. Ferlesch prepares his in a similar
way, and then slices it. The rich dumpling pieces make a delicious
foil for the sauerbraten’s sauce. A side of the jalapeno-flavored
spaghetti squash, touched with cream, brightens the appearance
of the plate.
Diet or not (and if you’ve made it past the entree then who are
you kidding?), it’s insane to skip dessert in a Viennese restaurant.
The milchrahmstrudel, less like a strudel and more of a light
souffle, is made with lightly sweetened farmers cheese and is
scattered with a few moist raisins. Order the palatschinken (Viennese
crepes), with a cup of the bistro’s rich, strong coffee and you’ll
return home happy. Eggy and almost transparent, the crepes are
napped with a touch of bittersweet chocolate sauce and a hearty
dollop of schlag (whipped cream).
Food isn’t the only thing that Ferlesch does right. The bar staff
is friendly, and our pony-tailed waiter, so knowledgeable and
charming, inspired my friend, two Schieles to the wind, to ask
if he were married.
Technique plays an important part in turning raw ingredients
into great food. Yet it’s that intangible something a chef brings
to the act of cooking that transforms a great cook into a star.
Four stars, in fact, for Ferlesch.
Thomas Beisl (25 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Place and St.
Felix Street in Fort Greene) accepts American Express. Entrees:
$13-$16. The restaurant is open daily from noon to midnight,
and serves brunch Saturdays and Sundays, from 10 am to 4 pm.
For reservations, call (718) 222-5800.